SCIS Upper School provides a challenging, college preparatory program that is based on an
American framework but has an international flavor. Our program aims to give students a rigorous,
meaningful experience that allows them to reflect and develop into independent contributors in the
world around them.
Strong Graduation Requirements
SCIS Upper School students enroll in 7 courses per year to expose them to more subjects
and interests. At the same time, we devote more class time per week to our core subjects
to ensure that these subjects are able to meet the challenging objectives of the year.
SCIS students need 25 high school (grades 9-12) credits to receive a diploma. A quick
look will show the academic emphasis that makes our school challenging and unique.
| English |
4 credits |
World Language |
3 credits |
| Social Studies |
3 credits |
Health/PE |
2.5 credits* |
| Science |
3 credits |
Fine Arts |
2 credits |
| Math |
3 credits |
Other Electives |
4 credits |
| Graduation Project |
0.5 credits |
|
| *0.5 Health credits required starting class of 2009 |
Finding the Strength in Every Child: an Advanced Placement (AP) expectation
Believing that schools should help children realize what they can do well instead of what
they cannot, SCIS aims to develop a student’s interests and talents into the pursuit of
excellence. One way in which this is measured is through the expectation that each SCIS
student will enroll and pass one Advanced Placement program course – a college level
course taught to high school students – during their high school career. We believe as
a student pursues excellence in any one discipline, skills and attitudes are developed
that will carry over into other subjects and beyond school. Above all, we seek to have
students take pride in their quest for excellence; we take pride in setting up an
environment where we believe we can make this happen for our students.
SCIS Advanced Placement Program - PDF
Comparison of AP and IB programs - PDF
Strong Activities and Character Development:
In addition to this core academic program, we invite and encourage students to participate
in a large selection of extra-curricular activities, community involvement, and travel
opportunities.
A Real-World Culminating Project
Competent citizens of the 21st century need to be able to do more than perform well in an
academic setting. They must be able to apply their knowledge to real problems, know who
can provide further information, and demonstrate this application in a manner that is
consistent with the non-academic world. Our graduating seniors must demonstrate these
skills by completing their Culminating Project. In this endeavor, students select a
topic of their interest, work with a faculty member to produce a research paper, create
a real-world application of their knowledge, and share their insight with a panel of
teachers and community members who evaluate the student’s performance.
Contact us: curriculum@scischina.org
